Short-term effects of experimental fires on a Mojave Desert seed bank
Journal of Arid Environments
By: Todd C. Esque, James A. Young, and C. Richard Tracy
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Abstract
A Mojave Desert shrub community was experimentally burned to understand changes in seed bank of desert annual plant species in response to wildfire. Seed mortality ranged from 55 to 80%, and fire caused significant losses of native and alien annual seeds. Schismus arabicus, Schismus barbatus, Bromus madritensis, Bromus tectorum, Erodium cicutarium and Plantago spp. made up >95% of the seed bank. Bromus spp. and Plantago spp. had proportionately greater mortality of seeds than did Schismus spp. and E. cicutarium. Schismus spp. can be lodged into soil cracks thus avoiding lethal temperatures. E. cicutarium has a self-drilling mechanism that places the seeds at greater depth in the soil. Greater seed mortality occurred beneath shrub canopies than interspaces for most species (Plantago, spp., Bromus spp., and E. cicutarium), but microsite had little effect on Schismus spp. Fire reduced the perennial Ambrosia dumosa densities under canopies. Fire reduced the mean number of species found in samples by about one species per plot and no species was extirpated on experimental plots. The relative abundances of common species did not change dramatically as a result of fire or microsite, however; seed densities varied by treatment and affected interpretations of species compositions.
Suggested Citation
Esque, T., Young, J., and Tracy, C.R., 2010, Short-term effects of experimental fires on a Mojave Desert seed bank: Journal of Arid Environments, v. 74, no. 10, p. 1302-1308.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Short-term effects of experimental fires on a Mojave Desert seed bank |
| Series title | Journal of Arid Environments |
| Volume | 74 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Year Published | 2010 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Publisher location | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Contributing office(s) | Western Ecological Research Center |
| Description | 7 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Journal of Arid Environments |
| First page | 1302 |
| Last page | 1308 |
| Country | United States |
| Other Geospatial | Mojave Desert |